Folding device of a printing press and method for operating the folding device

ABSTRACT

A folding device of a printing press and a method for operating the folding device is disclosed. A folding element is activatable via control elements, where the control elements control a movement of the folding element. The movement of the folding element is controllable in a variable section-based sequence or a variable product-based sequence or a variable time-based sequence.

This application claims the priority of German Patent Document No. DE 10 2013 102 728.8, filed Mar. 18, 2013, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a folding device of a printing press. The invention furthermore relates to a method for operating the folding device.

From practice, folding devices of printing presses are already known, with the help of which transverse folds and/or longitudinal folds can be formed on signatures which are severed from a printed, in particular web-like, structure. Here, perforated folding devices and gripper folding devices are distinguished in principle, namely dependent on whether so-called folding knife cylinders of the folding device utilize pins or grippers as holding elements for the position fixing of the signatures to be folded on the folding knife cylinder. From practice it is likewise already known to collect multiple signatures into a signature stack during the folding of the signatures. As folding elements, a folding device comprises interacting folding knives and folding jaws.

From DE 44 26 987 A1 a folding device of a printing press with multiple cylinders is known, namely with a cutting cylinder, a pin and folding knife cylinder, a folding jaw cylinder and a gripper and folding knife cylinder. Via the cutting cylinder, signatures can be severed from the printed substrate. Between the pin and folding knife cylinder and the folding jaw cylinder, first transverse folds can be formed on the signatures and between the folding jaw cylinder and the gripper and folding knife cylinder, second transverse folds can be formed on the signatures.

From DE 44 26 987 A1 it is known furthermore that the pin and folding knife cylinder, the folding jaw cylinder and the gripper and folding knife cylinder each consist of two cylinder bodies or cylinder segments which can be twisted relative to one another. Thus, the relative position of the cylinder bodies of the pin and folding knife cylinder, the relative position of the cylinder bodies of the folding jaw cylinders and the relative position of the cylinder bodies of the gripper and folding knife cylinders can be changed in order to change a format setting and/or a positive overlap setting.

From DE 10 2005 017 232 A1 and from DE 10 2006 051 569 A1 further folding devices of a printing press are known, namely details of a so-called collecting cylinder of the folding devices, wherein the collecting cylinder can, for example, be the pin and folding knife cylinder of the folding device of DE 44 26 987 A1.

Thus it is known from the prior art that holding elements of the collecting cylinders of a folder can be activated via control elements, wherein according to this prior art the activation of the holding elements is effected via control cams and cams collect interacting with the control cams. Thus it is known from DE 10 2006 051 569 A1 that in a non-collecting mode of the collecting cylinder the holding elements of the latter are exclusively activated by the control cams and that in a collecting mode of the collecting cylinder the control cams together with the cams collect activate the holding elements of the collecting cylinders. Both via the mechanical control cams as well as via the mechanical cams collect is it possible to activate the holding elements of the collecting cylinders exclusively in a fixed and/or time sequence which is cyclical based on section or product-based. For this reason, such folding devices are primarily suitable for use on printing presses, with which, for example, via an offset printing process same printing images are always recurringly printed on a substrate.

For use on digital printing presses or printing presses which utilize a printing form-variable printing method, i.e. with which the printed print pages are variably modifiable, the folding devices which are known from the prior art are only suitable conditionally. There is therefore a need for a folding device for a printing press, which is also suitable for digital printing presses or other printing presses with a printing form-variable printing process, such as, for example, an inkjet printing process.

According to the invention, the movement of the folding elements and the movement of any existing holding elements can be controlled via control elements in any variable section or product-based and/or time sequence.

With the folding device according to the invention, the movement of the folding elements and the movement of any existing holding elements of the folding device can be controlled via control elements in any variable section or product-based and/or time sequence.

The sequence can be predetermined according to time units as a function of the web speed (=time-based sequence) or will be varied by means of the sections of the folding unit or the cutting device (=section-based sequence) or with the help of the printed products or product parts (=product-based sequence).

For this reason, the folding device according to the invention is particularly preferred for use on digital printing presses or other printing presses with a printing form-variable printing method.

Preferentially, a time-based distance of folding operations carried out via the movement of the folding elements and/or a time-based distance of collecting operations carried out via the movement of the holding elements can be variably controlled. Furthermore, a lifting movement of the folding elements while carrying out folding operations and/or a lifting movement of the holding elements while carrying out collecting operations can be variably controllable. By means of this it is then ensured that products which variably differ widely can be produced on the folding device in any time-based sequence.

According to an advantageous further development of the invention, different control elements interact for folding and collecting where appropriate. Thus, the movement of the folding elements and the movement of the holding elements for folding and where appropriate for collecting can be controllable via mechanical control elements formed as control cams in such a manner that the respective control cams control the movement of the folding elements and the movement of the holding elements in a defined, fixed time-based sequence. With the mechanical control elements formed as control cams, further mechanical control elements formed as cams collect can interact in such a manner that in a first operating mode of the folding device the movement of the folding elements and the movement of the holding elements is exclusively controllable by the respective control cams in a first fixed time-based sequence, and that in a second operating mode of the folding device the movement of the folding elements and the movement of the holding elements is controllable through interaction of the respective control cams and respective cams collect in a second fixed time-based sequence.

For folding and where appropriate collecting, the movement of the folding elements and/or the movement of the holding elements is controllable via electrical or electromechanical control elements in such a manner that the respective electrical or electromechanical control elements control the movement of the folding elements and/or the movement of the holding elements in any variable time-based sequence. These electrical or electromechanical control elements can interact with the mechanical control elements in such a manner that in particular when the electrical or electromechanical control elements are not active, the latter permit activation of the folding elements and/or of the holding elements through the mechanical control elements, wherein as in particular when the mechanical or pneumatic or electropneumatic or electrical or electromechanical control elements are active, the latter prevent activation of the folding elements and/or of the holding elements through the mechanical control elements.

The above interaction of the mechanical or pneumatic or electropneumatic or electrical or electromechanical control elements for activating the folding elements and/or holding elements in any variable time-based sequence with the mechanical control elements, which serve for activating the folding elements and/or holding elements in fixed time-based sequences, is particularly preferred.

Preferred further developments of the invention are obtained from the following description. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with the help of the drawings without being restricted to this.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a first folding device of a printing press;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a second folding device of a printing press;

FIG. 3 is the detail A of the folding device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is the detail B of the folding device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates details of the folding device of FIG. 2 on the drive and control side;

FIG. 6 illustrates further details of the folding device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 illustrates details of an alternative folding device of a printing press; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a folding device for digital print applications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention relates to a folding device and to a method for operating such a folding device.

FIG. 1 shows as an exemplary embodiment a first folding device 10 formed as a cylinder folding device of a printing press, which in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises three cylinders interacting during folding, namely a cutting cylinder 11, a folding knife cylinder 12 and a folding jaw cylinder 13. With the help of the cutting cylinder 11, which in the shown exemplary embodiment carries two cutting knives 15, signatures 16 can be severed from a printed substrate web 14, which are gripped by the folding knife cylinder 12 and transported in the direction of the folding jaw cylinder 13, wherein the signatures 16 are transferred by the folding knife cylinder 12 to the folding jaw cylinder 13 subject to forming a transverse fold. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the folding knife cylinder 12 is embodied as a pin and folding knife cylinder 12, which as holding elements comprises multiple pins 17 for holding the severed signatures 16 on the outer circumference of the folding knife cylinder 12, and which furthermore comprises multiple folding knives 18 as folding elements, which during the forming of the transverse folds dip into folding elements of the folding jaw cylinder 13 formed as folding jaws 19 in the region between the folding knife cylinder 12 and the folding jaw cylinder 13. In FIG. 1, transversely folded signatures are marked with the reference number 16′.

FIG. 3 shows the detail A of FIG. 1 in the transfer region between the folding knife cylinder 12 and the folding jaw cylinder 13, wherein FIG. 3 shows a signature 16, which is held on a leading edge of a holding element of the folding knife cylinder 12 formed as a pin 17, and on which a transverse fold is formed in that a folding element of the folding knife cylinder 12 formed as a folding knife 18 presses the signature 16 into an opened folding element formed as a folding jaw 19 of the folding jaw cylinder 13, wherein FIG. 3 shows the folding jaw 19 in an opened state. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, the folding jaw 19 is formed by a fixed folding strip 20 and a folding strip 21 which is moveable relative to the fixed folding strip 20. In contrast with this, both folding strips of the folding jaw can also be embodied in a moveable manner.

FIG. 2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a folding device 10 formed as a cylinder folding device, which differs from the folding device 10 of FIG. 1 in that the folding device 10 of FIG. 2 comprises a further folding knife cylinder 22, which interacts with the folding jaw cylinder 13 for forming a second transverse fold on the signatures 16, wherein in FIG. 2 the signatures provided with two transverse folds are marked with the reference number 16″. To avoid repetitions, same reference numbers are used for same assemblies and in the following only such details are discussed with respect to which the folding device 10 of FIG. 2 differs from the folding device 10 of Fig. I.

The folding device 10 of FIG. 2 comprises, as already mentioned, a further cylinder, namely the further folding knife cylinder 22, which interacts with the folding jaw cylinder 13 subject to forming further transverse folds on the signatures 16, wherein this further folding knife cylinders 22 in the shown exemplary embodiment is embodied as gripper and folding knife cylinder 22, which on the one hand carries folding knives 23 as folding elements and on the other hand grippers 24 as holding elements. The second transverse folds between the folding jaw cylinder 13 and the further folding knife cylinder 22 are formed in the transfer region B between the same, wherein FIG. 4 shows this transfer region B in detail.

Thus it is evident from FIG. 4 that the folding jaw cylinder 13 of the folding device 10 of FIG. 2 comprises as folding elements first folding jaws 19 a, which are involved in the forming of first transverse folds between the folding knife cylinder 12 and the folding jaw cylinder 13, and second folding jaws 19 b, which are involved in the forming of second transverse folds between the folding jaw cylinder 13 and the further folding knife cylinder 22, wherein each of these folding jaws 19 a and 19 b in the shown exemplary embodiment again comprises a fixed folding strip 20 a and 20 b and a moveable folding strip 21 a, 21 b.

For forming a second transverse fold on a signature 16 between the folding jaw cylinder 13 and the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22, a holding element of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 formed as a gripper 24 grips a signature provided with a first transverse fold in the region of the first transverse fold, wherein the folding element of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 formed as a folding knife 23 presses this signature 16 into an opened holding element of the folding jaw cylinder 13 formed as a folding jaw 19 b subject to forming a second transverse fold on the signature.

The folding knife cylinder 12 comprises two cylinder bodies 25 and 26, which can be twisted relative to one another in the circumferential direction. A first cylinder body 25 carries the pins 17 or holding elements and a second cylinder body 26 carries the folding knives 18 or folding elements. In order to be able to perform a format changeover and/or positive overlap changeover on the folding device 10, the two cylinder bodies 25, 26 can be twisted relative to one another in order to adapt the circumferential distance between the pins 17 and the folding knife 18 of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, in which the folding jaw cylinder 13 merely comprises first folding jaws, the folding jaw cylinder 13 is embodied in one piece. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, by contrast, in which the folding jaw cylinder 13 comprises the first folding jaws 19 a for forming the first transverse folds and the second folding jaws 19 b for forming the second transverse folds, the folding jaw cylinder 13 is formed of two cylinder bodies analogously to the pin and folding knife cylinder 12, wherein a first cylinder body comprises the folding jaws 19 a and a second cylinder body the folding jaws 19 b, the circumferential distance of which can be changed by twisting the cylinder bodies relative to one another, in order to perform a format changeover and/or positive overlap changeover.

In an analogous manner, the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 is also formed of two cylinder bodies, wherein a first cylinder body of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 carries the grippers 24 and a second cylinder body of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 carries the folding knives 23, the circumferential distance of which can be changed by twisting the cylinder bodies of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22.

This is also evident from FIG. 5, wherein FIG. 5 shows details on the drive side and control side of the folding device 10 of FIG. 2. Thus, FIG. 5 shows the toothing on the drive side of cutting cylinder 11, pin and folding knife cylinder 12, folding jaw cylinder 13 and gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 via gears or spur gears 31, which are arranged at different gear planes and engage into one another.

Furthermore, FIG. 5 shows the cylinder bodies 25 and 26 of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12, wherein the cylinder body 25 carries the pins 17 and the cylinder body 26 carries the folding knives 18. In addition to this, FIG. 5 shows the cylinder bodies 27 and 28 of the folding jaw cylinder 13, wherein the cylinder body 27 carries the first folding jaws 19 a and the cylinder body 28 carries the second folding jaws 19 b. The cylinder bodies 29 and 30 of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 are also shown, wherein the cylinder body 29 of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 carries the grippers 24 and the cylinder body 30 of the gripper and folding knife 22 carries the folding knives.

FIG. 5 furthermore shows that each of the cylinder bodies 25, 26 and 27, 28 and 29, 30 is assigned a gear 31, which are in engagement with gears 31 of interacting cylinders. Thus, FIG. 5 shows that a gear 31 which is assigned to the cylinder body 27 of the folding jaw cylinder 13 is in engagement with two further gears 31 in a gear plane, namely with a gear 31 assigned to the cylinder body 26 of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12 and a gear 31 assigned to the cylinder body 29 of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22.

The gear 31 which is assigned to the cylinder body 25 of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12 is in engagement with a gear 31 in a further gear plane, which is assigned to the cutting cylinder 11. In a further gear plane, further gears 31 are in engagement, namely the gear which is assigned to the cylinder body 28 of the folding jaw cylinder 13 and the gear 31 of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 assigned to the cylinder body 30.

For the format changeover and/or positive overlap changeover in the region of the cylinders 12, 13 and 22, the respective cylinder bodies 25, 26 and 27, 28 and 29, 30 respectively are twisted relative to one another, wherein this is performed by driving the gears 32, 33. During such a format changeover or positive overlap changeover, the cylinder bodies 25 and 26 can be twisted relative to one another in the region of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12 in order to adjust the circumferential distance between the pins 17 and the folding knives 18. In the region of the folding jaw cylinder 13, the cylinder bodies 27 and 28 can be twisted relative to one another in order to change the distance between the folding jaws 19 a and 19 b.

In the region of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22, the cylinder bodies 29 and 30 can be twisted relative to one another in order to adjust the circumferential distance between the grippers 24 and the folding knives 23.

FIG. 5 shows, furthermore, that all cylinders 11, 12, 13 and 22 of the folding device 10 can be driven from a common drive motor 34. Driving the gears 32 and 33 for bringing about the positive overlap changeover or format changeover is effected via separate motors 35 and 36, namely in particular when clutches 37 and 38 assigned to the gears 32 and 33 are closed.

As is best evident from FIGS. 3 and 4, the folding knives 18 as folding elements can be activated in the region of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12 and the pin 17 as holding elements, the folding jaws 19 or the folding jaws 19 a and 19 b as folding elements can be activated in the region of the folding jaw cylinder 13 and the grippers 24 as holding elements and the folding knives 23 as folding elements can be activated in the region of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22, these control elements 39 being mechanical control elements in the form of control cams. These control cams 39 are also visible in FIG. 5, wherein these control cams 39 in FIG. 5 are positioned on a side of the cylinders 12, 13 and 22 other than the gears 31. Control levers 40, which according to FIGS. 3 and 4 are coupled to the respective holding elements 17 and 24 respectively and the respective folding elements 19, 19 a, 19 b and 23 roll on these control cams 39. Here, the control cams 39 are contoured in the form of cam tracks, wherein with the help of these mechanical control elements 39 the folding elements or the holding elements of the folding device, namely the movement of the folding elements and the movement of the holding elements, is controllable in a fixed cyclical time-based sequence.

In particular when the folding devices which are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are to be operated in a so-called collecting mode, in which prior to the forming of the folds multiple signatures 16 are collected into a signature stack in the region of the pin and folding knife cylinder 12, further mechanical control elements 41 formed as cams collect act together with these mechanical control cams 39. This is effected in such a manner that in a first operating mode of the folding device, for example in a non-collecting operating mode of the same, the movement of the folding elements and holding elements is exclusively controlled from the respective control cams 39 in a first fixed, cyclical time-based sequence, and that in a second operating mode of the folding device, in particular in the collecting operating mode of the same, the movement of the folding elements and the movement of the holding elements is controlled through interaction of the control cams 39 and the cams collect 41 in a second fixed, cyclical time-based sequence.

Here it is possible to activate the holding elements and folding elements of the folding devices in different fixed, cyclical time-based sequences, namely to ensure on the one hand a colleting mode and on the other hand a non-collecting mode of the folding device.

With the folding device of a printing press according to the invention, the movement of the folding elements and/or the movement of the holding elements is controllable via control elements in any variable section or product-based and/or time-based sequence. Thus, a section or product-based and/or time-based distance of folding operations carried out via the movement of the folding elements 18, 19 and 19 a, 19 b and 23 and/or a time-based distance of collecting operations carried out via the movement of the holding elements 17, 24 can be variably controlled in a time-based manner. Where appropriate, a lifting movement of the folding elements 18, 19 and 19 a, 19 b and 23 and/or a lifting movement of the holding elements 17, 24 is variably controllable when carrying out collecting operations in order to produce a wide range of different printed products on the folding device in any sequence in this way.

The lifting movement of the folding elements when performing folding operation and/or the lifting movement of the holding elements when collecting operations can be adjusted in steps or continuously.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described making reference to FIG. 6 on the example of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 of the folding device of FIG. 2, wherein in FIG. 6 as a holding element a gripper 24 of the cylinder 22 is shown, which can be activated in a defined, fixed cyclical sequence with the help of a mechanical control element 39 formed as a control cam, on which the control lever 40 rolls.

According to FIG. 6, the gripper 24 of the cylinder 22 is assigned a further control element 42, via which the movement of the holding element of the cylinder 22 which is formed as a gripper 24 can be activated in any variable time-based sequence.

The control element 42 is an electrical or electromechanical control element, which according to FIG. 6 is formed as a pneumatically or electropneumatically or electrically or electromechanically activatable restraining element. In particular when this control element 42 or restraining element is active, the latter prevents the activation of the holding element formed as gripper 24 via the mechanical control cam 39, in that the control element 42 or the restraining element holds the control lever 40 which rolls on the mechanical control cam 39 in a fixed manner, thus preventing the rolling movement of the control lever on the control cam 39. In particular when the control element 42 which is embodied as a restraining element is inactive, the latter releases the control lever 40 and thus makes possible that the control lever 40 rolls on the mechanical control cam 39 for activating the gripper 24. According to FIG. 6 it is accordingly possible to activate the holding element of the cylinder 22 embodied as gripper 24 either in a fixed, cyclical time-based sequence via the mechanical control cam 39, on which the control lever 40 rolls or with active control element 42, to disable this activation via the mechanical control cam in that the control lever 40 of the gripper 24 is held in a fixed manner, thus preventing rolling of the latter on the control cam 39.

Although the invention in FIG. 6 has been exclusively described for a cylinder folder exclusively for the holding elements of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 formed as grippers 24, such control elements 42, which serve for any variable section or product-based and/or time-based activation of the holding elements and folding elements, can also be employed with the holding elements which are formed as pins 17 and with the folding elements which are formed as folding knives 18, 23 and as folding jaws 19, 19 a, 19 b. The pneumatic or electropneumatic or electrical or electromechanical control elements 42 can be activated with short reaction times in any section or product-based and/or time-based sequence. In this regard, the control lever 40 in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6 can be held in a fixed manner and released in any time-based sequence. Ultimately, making use of the invention, a wide range of printing products can be produced on a folding device in any section or product-based and/or time-based sequence, namely printed products which in their sequence differ in any way with respect to the folds formed and with respect to the number of the collected signatures.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 8, a format and fold-variable folding device 10 is shown, which is configured as a pin folding unit. Following the singling out of the optionally longitudinally folded web 48 or web ribbons 48, the sheets are collected on the pin cylinder 49 as often as possible. On reaching the predetermined number of collected sheets, the sheets are transferred to a folding jaw cylinder 13 by a gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 which is variably controlled according to this invention with suitably variably controllable holding elements. The folding elements of the gripper and folding knife cylinder 22 as well as the holding elements of the folding jaw cylinder 13 can likewise be embodied in a variably controllable manner, so that transversely folded signatures with variably controllable number of layers or page numbers can be generated. The variably layered signatures transversely folded in this way can be collected once more in the folding device 43 connected downstream as part of the technical folding possibilities into stacks of any thickness, before on the same a fold is formed in longitudinal direction with the folding device 43 that can be connected downstream with the configuration of the invention described in the following.

Although making reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 and 8, the details of the invention were described by means of a cylinder folding device, which serves for forming transverse folds on signatures, the invention is not restricted to this application case, the invention on the contrary can also be employed on other folding devices. Thus, FIG. 7 shows a folding device 43 which as folding element 45 comprises a folding knife, which is mounted on a control lever 44. This control lever 44 can be activated by a mechanical control element 46, which is a control cam, wherein the control lever 44 rolls on this control cam 46 and is activated dependent on this rolling movement, in order to form a fold, in particular a longitudinal fold on a signature 16. Activating the folding element 45 via the control cam 46 is effected in a fixed, cyclical time-based sequence. In terms of the present invention, the folding element 45 of the folding device 43 of FIG. 7 can be activated via a control element 42 in any variable section or product-based and/or time-based sequence, wherein this control element 42 as in FIG. 6 is a pneumatically or electropneumatically or electrically or electromechanically activatable restraining element which in the active state in FIG. 7 holds the control lever 44 in a fixed manner, thus preventing its activation via the mechanical control cam 46. In the inactive state, by contrast, the control element 42 releases the control lever 44, allowing its actuation via the mechanical control cam 46.

Preferentially, the pneumatically or electropneumatically or electromechanically activatable control elements 42 comprise magnets 47, which in an energised or active state in FIG. 6 hold the control lever 40 and in FIG. 7 the control lever 44 in a fixed manner, thus preventing its actuation via the mechanical control cam 46.

With the present invention, a completely new type of operation of a folding device is possible. Thus, folding elements and/or holding elements of a folding device can be activated in any variably section or product-based and/or time-based sequence. Through this it is possible, for example, to produce products in any section or product-based and/or time-based sequence, which can differ with respect to their thickness or with respect to the number of their collected signatures and/or with respect to the type and number of the formed folds in any way in a variable section or product-based and/or time-based sequence. The folding device is suitable in particular for digital printing presses or other printing presses with a printing form-variable printing method, such as, for example, an inkjet printing method.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   10 Folding device -   11 Cutting cylinder -   12 Folding knife cylinder/pin and folding knife cylinder -   13 Folding jaw cylinder -   14 Substrate -   15 Cutting knife -   16 Signature -   16′, 16″ Folded signature -   17 Holding element/pin -   18 Folding element/folding knife -   19, 19 a, 19 b Folding element/folding jaw -   20, 20 a, 20 b Folding strip -   21, 21 a, 21 b Folding strip -   22 Folding knife cylinder/gripper and folding knife cylinder -   23 Folding element/folding knife -   24 Holding element/gripper -   25 Cylinder body -   26 Cylinder body -   27 Cylinder body -   28 Cylinder body -   29 Cylinder body -   30 Cylinder body -   31 Gear -   32 Gear -   33 Gear -   34 Drive motor -   35 Motor -   36 Motor -   37 Clutch -   38 Clutch -   39 Control element/control cam -   40 Control lever -   41 Control element/cam collect -   42 Control element -   43 Folding device -   44 Control lever -   45 Folding element/folding knife -   46 Control element/control cam -   47 Magnet -   48 Web/web ribbons -   49 Pin cylinder

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A folding device of a printing press, comprising: a folding element, wherein the folding element is activatable via control elements, wherein the control elements control a movement of the folding element, and wherein the movement of the folding element is controllable in a variable section-based sequence or a variable product-based sequence or a variable time-based sequence.
 2. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein a time-based distance of folding operations performed via the movement of the folding element is variably controllable.
 3. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein a lifting movement of the folding element is variably controllable during a folding operation.
 4. The folding device according to claim 3, wherein the lifting movement of the folding element during the folding operation is adjustable in steps or continuously.
 5. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein the control elements include a mechanical control element.
 6. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein the control elements include a control cam and a cams collect.
 7. The folding device according to claim 5, wherein the control elements include a pneumatic or an electro-pneumatic or an electrical or an electro-mechanical control element.
 8. The folding device according to claim 7, wherein the pneumatic or the electro-pneumatic or the electrical or the electro-mechanical control element interacts with the mechanical control element such that when the pneumatic or the electro-pneumatic or the electrical or the electro-mechanical control element is in an inactive state the pneumatic or the electro-pneumatic or the electrical or the electro-mechanical control element permits an activation of the folding element via the mechanical control element, and such that when the pneumatic or the electro-pneumatic or the electrical or the electro-mechanical control element is in an active state the pneumatic or the electro-pneumatic or the electrical or the electro-mechanical control element prevents an activation of the folding element via the mechanical control element.
 9. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein the folding element is a folding knife or a folding jaw.
 10. The folding device according to claim 1, further comprising a holding element, wherein the holding, element is activatable via control elements, wherein the control elements control a movement of the holding element, and wherein the movement of the holding element is controllable in a variable section-based sequence or a variable product-based sequence or a variable time-based sequence.
 11. The folding device according to claim 10, wherein the holding element is a pin or a gripper.
 12. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein the folding device is a cylinder folding device for forming transverse folds.
 13. The folding device according to claim 1, wherein the folding device is a folding device for forming longitudinal folds.
 14. A method for operating a folding device of a printing press, comprising the step of: controlling a movement of a folding element via control elements in a variable section-based sequence or a variable product-based sequence or a variable time-based sequence.
 15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of controlling a movement of a holding element via control elements in a variable section-based sequence or a variable product-based sequence or a variable time-based sequence. 